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SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence edged lower in May as Americans’ view of their present and future prospects dimmed in the midst of persistent inflation.

Some supply strains in the U.S. are easing, two years after a jump in demand started emptying shelves, snarling shipping and sowing the seeds of soaring inflation.

SHANGHAI — Shanghai authorities say they will take major steps June 1 toward reopening China’s largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has set back the national economy and largely confined millions of people to their homes.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Lyons has been appointed as the new port and supply chain envoy to a group created by the White House last June to mitigate economic problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association filed a federal lawsuit May 27 alleging that California environmental regulators have failed to give manufacturers enough lead time to meet the state’s new, more rigid emission standards.

Before awarding federal funds, U.S. transportation officials will look for projects offering greater access to people, especially in disadvantaged communities.

State legislators across the nation are working to create new laws to promote the development and use of hydrogen energy.

Like Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, other states across the nation are scrambling to become hydrogen hubs in the hopes of securing some of the $9.5 billion in federal funds for clean hydrogen initiatives.

Consumer sentiment deteriorated further in late May to a fresh decade low as escalating concerns over inflation dimmed the outlook for the economy.

An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 6.3% in April from a year earlier, just below a four-decade high set in March and the first slowdown since November 2020.